WIP Limits

Work-in-Progress (WIP) limits constrain how many tasks can exist in a column simultaneously. This Kanban practice prevents overloading any stage of your workflow and encourages teams to finish work before starting new tasks.

The Problem This Solves

Without limits, teams tend to start more work than they can finish. Tasks pile up in progress columns, context switching increases, and nothing gets done quickly. This pattern creates the illusion of productivity (lots of tasks started) while actually slowing delivery (few tasks completed).

WIP limits create a forcing function. When a column reaches its limit, you cannot add more tasks until something moves forward. This surfaces bottlenecks immediately and naturally encourages team members to help clear blockages instead of starting new work.

What You Are Looking At

The WIP Limit modal appears when you select "WIP Limit" from a column's dropdown menu. The modal shows the current column name for reference, a slider to set the numeric limit, and a checkbox to disable limits entirely.

Opening WIP Limit Settings

To configure WIP limits for a column:

Navigate to your Kanban board
Click the three-dot menu icon in the target column header
Select "WIP Limit" from the dropdown menu

You need board management permissions to modify WIP limits. If this option does not appear, contact your workspace administrator.

Setting a WIP Limit

The slider control adjusts the maximum number of tasks allowed in the column. Move the slider to set a value between 1 and 15. The current limit displays below the slider as you adjust it.

Choosing the right limit:

Start with your team size for in-progress columns (if 3 developers work on tasks, limit to 3-4)
Allow slightly higher limits for queue columns where work waits
Set lower limits for bottleneck stages you want to improve
Consider task complexity: complex tasks need lower limits per person

The limit takes effect immediately when you close the modal. No separate save action is required since the value updates as you adjust the slider.

The No WIP Checkbox

Enable the "No WIP" checkbox to remove all limits from a column. This effectively sets the limit to 0, which the system interprets as unlimited.

Some columns genuinely need unlimited capacity:

Backlog columns where all future work queues
Done columns where completed work accumulates
Archive columns for historical records

Enable this option sparingly. Unlimited in-progress columns defeat the purpose of Kanban's flow optimization.

How WIP Limits Work

When a column has a WIP limit:

Adding tasks: Attempts to drag a task into a column at capacity trigger a warning modal. The system explains the limit and prevents the action. To add the task, first move something else out of the column.

Moving tasks out: Moving tasks out of a column that was at capacity immediately makes room for new work. No additional action is required.

Column counter: The task count badge in the column header helps monitor capacity. Some teams configure visual warnings when columns approach their limits.

Creating tasks: Creating a new task assigned to a column at capacity may trigger the same limit warning, depending on your project's task creation configuration.

When you attempt to exceed a WIP limit, a modal appears explaining:

The column has reached its WIP limit
You cannot add more tasks
What action to take (remove tasks from the column first)

This is not an error. The system is working correctly to enforce flow constraints. Review the column and determine what can move forward or what blocking issue needs resolution.

Benefits of WIP Limits

Reduced multitasking: Developers focus on fewer items at once, improving quality and completion speed.

Exposed bottlenecks: When work piles up behind a limited column, you see exactly where the process struggles. This visibility drives process improvement.

Faster flow: Counterintuitively, limiting work-in-progress speeds up delivery. Less concurrent work means less context switching and faster individual task completion.

Better forecasting: With stable WIP, throughput becomes predictable. You can confidently estimate when work will complete based on historical data.

Team collaboration: When developers cannot start new work due to limits, they naturally help colleagues clear bottlenecks. This builds team cohesion.

Recommended Limits by Column Type

Backlog / To Do: No limit (work queues here)

Ready for Development: Team size times 2 (buffer for planning)

In Development: Team size (one task per active developer)

Code Review: Team size divided by 2 (reviews happen between coding sessions)

Testing / QA: Team size (one item per tester or shared testing capacity)

Done: No limit (completed work accumulates)

These recommendations provide starting points. Adjust based on your actual flow patterns and cycle time data.

Monitoring WIP Effectiveness

After implementing limits, monitor your Cumulative Flow Diagram (available in the Flow view) to observe:

Stable bands: Work-in-progress counts stabilize instead of growing unbounded.

Smooth flow: Tasks move steadily from left to right without large accumulations.

Quick bottleneck identification: Columns that consistently hit limits while downstream columns empty indicate process constraints to address.

Adjusting Limits Over Time

WIP limits are not permanent. Review and adjust based on:

Team size changes
Project complexity variations
Observed bottleneck patterns
Cycle time trends

Start conservative (lower limits) and increase gradually if work flows smoothly without blocking. The goal is sustainable flow, not maximum utilization.

Pro Tips

Limit the limits: Not every column needs a limit. Focus on in-progress stages where work actively happens
Make limits visible: Consider adding the limit number to column names during adoption (e.g., "In Progress [3]")
Team discussion: When limits block work, use it as a conversation starter about why flow is impeded
Emergency override: Occasionally business needs require exceeding limits. Discuss as a team, make exceptions explicit, and return to normal limits quickly

How to Report a Problem or Request a Feature

Your feedback matters. Here is how to share it:

If WIP limit warnings appear incorrectly or you want additional limit configuration options, we value your input.

In the Sidebar, click on Support Tickets and open a ticket for the problem. Everything is interactive and fast through the GitScrum Studio platform.